Condensed milk can opener and holder



June 8, 1943.

N. J. HARVEY v CONDENSED MILK CAN OPENER AND HOLDER Filed Oct. 16, 1939m m V m Norman J. Harv ATTORNEY.

Patented June s, 1943 UNHTED STAT a};

PATENT OFFICE CONDENSED MILK CAN OPENER AND HOLDER 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a device for holding a can of condensed milk orthe like for openin the can and for holding the can while the contentsare removed.

An object of the invention is the provision of a device which isdesigned for puncturing the top of the can at its periphery in a mannersuch that the puncture is made by distorting the metal at the seam toprovide a spout for conductin the milk away from the side of the can.

Another object is the provision of a device for attachment to a can, thedevice having a prod for puncturing the can and having a pivoted handlefor actuating the prod to and from puncturing position.

Another object is the provision of a device for dispensing the contentsof a can containing a liquid, the device being adapted to be secured tothe can and having a pivoted handle and a prod pivotally connected tothe handle, the prod having a compound movement for first puncturing thetop of the can and then distorting the metal of the can to provide aspout at the edge of the can.

Another object is the provision of a device which may be clamped to acan against any movement on the can and also-against upward movement ofdisplacement on the can.

Another object is the provision of a device adapted to be secured to thetop of 'a' can,v the device including a downturned resilient flange forpartly surrounding the upper portion of the can and including also meansfor tightening and loosening the flange for clamping and unclamping thedevice on the can.

Another object is the provision of a device for attachment to a can forconvenience in handling the can while the contents are being dispensed,the device being particularly adapted to be attached to any of the cansof various diameters now on the market as condensed milk cans.

Another object is the provision of a holder for a can having one or moreopenings for dispensing the contents of the can, the'holder beingadapted to close the openings when the can is not in use to prevent theentrance of dust or other foreign matter.

Another object is the provision of a holder and opener for canscontaining a liquid such as condensed milk, the device being simple ofconstruction and in use, sanitary in use and between uses, and easilymanipulated for providing apertures of efiective size and with a spoutin the can itself for pouring the milk as from a pitcher.

Having in view these object and others which will be pointed out in thefollowing description, I will now refer to the drawing, in which thedevice is shown in connection with a condensed milk can, and in whichFigure 1 is a view in side elevation showin in dotted lines the positionof the handle in its puncturing position.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view showing particularly the operatingmechanism of the prod.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing the clamping parts in their releasingposition from the milk can.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing the parts in their clamping position onthe milk can and showing also the form of aperture in the milk can asformed by the prod.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view through the upper edge of the milkcan with means for securing the device against release from the milkcan.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through the edge of the milk can,showing themovement of the prod in forming the aperture and spout in themilk can.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 1-1 of Figure 1looking in the direction of the arrows and showing particularly theposition of the prod.

Cans for condensed milk diirer from some other cans in that the top andbottom are provided with flanges which seat over the edges of the bodyportion of the can, solder being applied to the inner surfaces of theflanges to hermetically seal the can. In the drawing, the numeral l9designates the can having flanges H, the flanges having a slightlygreater diameter thanthe body of the can. The edge of the top flange isutilized in securing my device in place on the milk can.

The base of my device includes a top member l2, a depending flange l3,and a bead I l between the member l2 and. the flange [3, the beadprojecting laterally and being in arcuate form. The top member is cutaway as shown, a triangular portion being cut out symmetrically withrespect to the circle of the top. The edges of the two cuts converge andmeet at the periphery of the top member I2 from whence they arecontinued in a single cut through the. bead M at V the handle end of thedevice. At the opposite end, the flange l3 as well as the member [2andthe bead M are cut. The member l2 thus con:

sists of two parts which are joined together on a vertical line of theflange at the handle portion 7 of the device, each part consisting of asectorshaped top and a downturned flange. The material being resilient,this line constitutes a hinge for slightly increasing or decreasing theperiphery of the member l2 to adapt the device to cans of various sizes.

For reasons which will subsequently be made evident, the member I2 mustbe adapted to be clamped very tightly on the milk can. The member I2 mayreadily be clipped onto the milk can due to the resilience of th flange.Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that a pair of ears I5is found in the cut away portion of the member l2 and that the two carsare folded over on to the member l2 to form pivot sockets which areinclined with reference to each other as shown. The two pivot membersproject from a single lever [6. This lever is formed of resilientmaterial and it is V-shaped, preferably with a loop at its apex. It hasmovement of about two quadrants as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The clampedposition is shown in Figure 4 and the unclamped position is shown inFigure 3. When clamped about the upper edge of a milk can, the member I2is tightly held in frictional engagement with the milk can.

For still further preventing accidental release, the flang i3 isprovided with, a plurality of slits, preferably three which areequidistantly spaced, and the upper portions of the tongues I! thusformed are bent inwardly at a position such that the upper edges of thetongues bear against the lower edges of the flange ll of the can.

The casing i8 is secured to depend from the,

flange I3 at the hinge thereof. This casing is in channel form, beingopen on its rear side. The handle member IS, in the form of a pitcherhandle, is pivotally secured at 2!] to the lower end portion of thecasing Hi to have the pivotal movement indicated in full and dottedlines in Figure 1, The telescoping cap 2| rests over the upper endportions of the casing 18 to close the top of the casing and to providea clip 2-2 for engaging the handle IS to hold the handle in operativeposition as a handle, the clip having a thumb piece 23 at its extremityimmediately above the handle. The handle terminates in an arm 24 whichseats within the open channel of the casing 18 to constitute a closurefor the casing when the handle is in its operative position as a handle.

In the channel of the casing I8 is a prod 5 for punching apertures inthe top of the can. This prod is in the form of a hook which ispivotally secured at 25 to the handle I9 at a point a slight distancefrom the pivot 20. The movement of the handle l9 to and from its dottedline position of Figur 1 thus results in a compound movement of thepoint 28. The main component of this movement is vertical in its downand up direction but combined with this movement is a slight movement ofthe point 28 toward or away from the rim of the milk can. The end of thehook is bevelled at its sides to provide a sharp point and a knife edgeso that the downward movement of the handle 19 will first cause thepoint 28 to penetrate the top of the milk can adjacent the edge and thenpress the rim of the can outwardly to provide an aperture with a spoutas shown in Figure 4.

For use, the device in its Figure 3 position is pressed down against thetop of a can of condensedmilk or other liquid and the lever 16 isthrown: to its Figure 4 position to clamp the device on the can. Thehandle 19 is then moved to its dotted line position of Figure 1 topuncture the top of the can. Reverse movement of the handle I9 releasesthe point of the prod from the aperture with the point entirely abovethe surface of the can so that movement of the lever IE to its Figure 3position will release the device for turning on the milk can. A secondaperture may then be formed in the top of the milk can, both aperturesbeing in close contiguity to the rim of the can. One of these aperturesis to serve as an outlet for the milk while the other is the air inlet.The milk outlet is formed as shown in Figure 4 with a spout spaced fromthe rim to prevent the creeping of the milk down the side of the can.The air inlet may be made by depressing the lever handle either fully orpartially since its purpose is only to admit air. The milk outlet must,however, be made by fully depressing the lever handle in order to maketh aperture of adequate size and to provide the spout. When it isdesired to increase the flow of milk from the can, all that is necessaryis to punch two or more apertures spaced slightly from each other. Fromthen on the device may be left in place until the contents of the canhave been used. At the table, the can with the attached device serves asa pitcher for creaming the coffee or for otherwise utilizing thecontents of the can, the handle 19 serving admirably as a pitcher handleand the spout in the can itself serving as a pitcher spout. Between useswhile the milk can with its contents is stored, the device may be givena partial turn on the can to cover both apertures to protect the milkfrom dust and other foreign matter.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact termsthat its construction and operation will be readily understood by othersskilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and 'desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device for opening and dispensing the contents of a can containinga fluid substance, said device including a member adapted to extend overthe top portion of said can, means for clamping said member to said can,a handle normally extending upwardly along one side of the can andhaving its lower end pivotally secured to a downwardly extending portionof said member to permit said handle to be swung outwardly, means forresiliently and releasably retaining the other end of said handleadjacent said member to retain said handle in its normal position, ahook like prod with the point thereof adapted to project downwardlytowards the top of the can closely adjacent the side thereof and withthe shank thereof extending downwardly and pivotall-y connected at itslower end to the handle outwardly of the pivot point of said handlewhereby upon said handle being swung downwardly, said prod is moveddownwardly and outwardly to, puncture the can at the edge thereof anddeform the edge into a, pouring spout.

2. In a device for dispensing a fluid substance from a can having anaperture adjacent the rim thereof, said device including a cap havingtwo parts of sector-shaped cross-section, each part having a top portionand a down-turned flange of resilient material, the flanges being joinedat one end to each other to connect the parts together, clamping meansfor drawing the two parts of the cap into clamping engagement with thecan, said clamping means including misaligned pivots on the two portionsof the top of said can and a resilient connection between said pivots.

and a pitcher handle secured to said cap adjacent the junction of theflanges of the two parts.

3. A device of the class described including a cap adapted to rest overthe top of a can containing a fluid substance, clamping means forclamping said cap to the can, a handle secured to the side of said capin such a manner as to extend adjacent the side of the can to which thecap is applied and form a supporting handle for the cap and can, saidhandle/having its lower end pivotally secured to said cap so as topermit said handle to be swung outwardly, a prod for penetrating the topof the can, connections between said handle and said pro-d for movingsaid prod downwardly into the top of said can as said handle is swungaway from its normal position adjacent the side of the can, and anauxiliary cap member secured to said previously named cap and extendingover said prod, said auxiliary cap member being provided with anextension in the form of a clip for releasably holding said handle 10 insaid normal position.

NORMAN J. HARVEY.

